Somalia, 21 October 2025 — Somalia’s National Intelligence and Security Agency (NISA) has announced that its officers, in coordination with international partners, conducted a planned operation that killed seven Al-Shabaab fighters in the Kuukaayle area of Mahaas district, Hiiraan region.
According to a statement released by NISA, the operation targeted locations where Al-Shabaab fighters were stationed and preparing combat vehicles for planned attacks against government forces. The exact destination of those attacks was not disclosed.
The overnight operation, carried out on Monday, consisted of three phases: in the first strike, three militants were killed; in the second, four others were eliminated; and in the final phase, combat vehicles being prepared by the group were destroyed.
“The first phase targeted a tent where three were killed; the second phase eliminated four others; while the third phase destroyed combat vehicles they were preparing,” the statement read.
NISA said the operation was launched following verified intelligence confirming the group’s activities in the Kuukaayle area, allowing the agency to neutralize those involved in the planning.
The agency confirmed that the mission concluded successfully, with all the key members behind the planned attacks killed.
According to NISA, the Kuukaayle operation is part of the broader offensive led by the Federal Government of Somalia and national security forces in central Somalia, aimed at dismantling Al-Shabaab’s operational bases and planning networks.
The Somali government has previously stated that its ongoing campaign against Al-Shabaab will increasingly rely on targeted airstrikes to weaken the group’s capabilities.